De Ferran Surprised by Dixon
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HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Gil de Ferran met race winner Scott Dixon as he walked out of the interview room Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
“I can’t repeat exactly what he said,” Dixon said, grinning. “But it was something like, ‘Where did you get that from?’ ”
Dixon was a surprise winner in the Toyota Indy 300, his Indy Racing League debut.
To get the victory, the 22-year-old from New Zealand had to get past Helio Castroneves and his Marlboro Team Penske teammate De Ferran, last year’s second- and third-place finishers in the IRL standings.
He passed Castroneves on the track, taking second place on Lap 140 of the 200-lap event, then took the lead during a pit stop on Lap 148. Dixon then beat the more experienced De Ferran to the finish by 0.057 seconds -- about six car-lengths.
The last driver to win his first IRL start was Juan Montoya, who won the 2000 Indianapolis 500.
“I picked up spots just about every time I pitted,” said Dixon, who averaged 153.710 mph.
On the decisive last stop, which took about 11 seconds, he said, “We got alongside Gil coming into the pits, which probably helped a little.”
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